1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a parking-assist system capable of automatically performing a search for a parking position.
2. Description of Related Art
In Japan Patent Application Laid-open No. 11-334470 (Reference 1) there is disclosed a parking-assist apparatus which calculates an calculated passing route according to a steering angle (rudder angle) and displays on a screen the calculated passing route superimposed onto an image of rear of a car imaged by a rear camera, so that a driver can carry out a steering operation, recognizing the relationship between a parking position (a position where the car is to be parked) and a present position of the car by seeing a display marker on the screen.
In Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2003-205806 (Reference 2), there is disclosed a parking-assist apparatus for assisting parking operation, mainly for assisting in putting a car into a garage. This parking-assist apparatus sets a target parking position when the car reaches a ready-to-park position (a position where the car temporarily stops to be parked), then calculates a moving distance and a rudder angle according to the target parking position and the ready-for-parking position, and thereby assists a parking operation.
With the apparatus disclosed in the reference 1, a driver should set the target parking position by adjusting the calculated passing route to the target parking position with a display marker, checking an image of rear of the car obtained by the rear camera. Thus, there exists a disadvantage of causing trouble, that is, the driver has to set a target parking position every time he parks the car. The apparatus disclosed in the reference 2 includes a similar problem.
Further, since a steering operation for parking is complicated practically, the guide for a parking operation is restricted within a certain level if a driver needs to check the calculated passing route on the screen. Also, operational safety should be taken into consideration.